Judiciary Committee - Senate
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Bills discussed (32)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HB1916
Act 979
· 6 mentions in chapter, agenda, transcript
Matched: “HB1916 Bentley TO AMEND THE PROTECTING MINORS FROM MEDICAL MALPRAC…”
|
TO AMEND THE PROTECTING MINORS FROM MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ACT OF 2023; AND TO INCLUDE GENDER-AFFIRMING … | Bentley | Notification that HB1916 is now Act 979 |
|
SB644
· 6 mentions in agenda, chapter, transcript
Matched: “…NDA (Revised 4/14/25 @ 1:27 PM) Changed Meeting Time; Added SB644 Senate Committee on Judiciary Monday, April 14, 2025 15 Min…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE EXECUTION OF A WRIT OF POSSESSION; AND TO ALLOW … | M. McKee | Died on Senate Calendar at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1967
Act 981
· 5 mentions in transcript, chapter, agenda
Matched: “What bill are we hearing? House Bill 1967. House Bill 1967. Representative of you would identify”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE UNLAWFUL DISTRIBUTION OF SEXUAL IMAGES OR RECORDINGS. | K. Brown | Notification that HB1967 is now Act 981 |
|
HB1984
Act 984
· 4 mentions in transcript, chapter
Matched: “Uh, Senator Davis. House Bill 1984. Is”
|
TO CREATE A DESIGNATION FOR A REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER ON A DRIVER'S LICENSE OR IDENTIFICATION … | Hudson | Notification that HB1984 is now Act 984 |
|
HB1975
Act 982
· 3 mentions in agenda, transcript
Matched: “…G THE UNLAWFUL DISTRIBUTION OF SEXUAL IMAGES OR RECORDINGS. HB1975 Gramlich TO CREATE THE CHILD CONTENT CREATION PROTECTION AC…”
|
TO CREATE THE CHILD CONTENT CREATION PROTECTION ACT. | Gramlich | Notification that HB1975 is now Act 982 |
|
HB1529
Act 827
· 2 mentions in transcript
Matched: “Meeks, HB 1529 concerning deep fake, and it has the attorney General, the…”
|
TO CREATE THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF UNLAWFUL CREATION OR DISTRIBUTION OF DEEPFAKE VISUAL MATERIAL; AND … | S. Meeks | Notification that HB1529 is now Act 827 |
|
HB1959
Act 986
· 2 mentions in chapter, transcript
Matched: “HB1959 M. Brown TO ABOLISH THE USE OF A WRIT OF SCIRE FACIAS AS TH…”
|
TO ABOLISH THE USE OF A WRIT OF SCIRE FACIAS AS THE MEANS OF REVIVING … | M. Brown | Notification that HB1959 is now Act 986 |
|
HB1611
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…estrictions designating areas as 'Members and Staff Only'. HB1611 Gonzales TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF ANIMAL FIGHTING WITH RE…”
|
TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF ANIMAL FIGHTING WITH RESPECT TO THE OFFENSE OF UNLAWFUL ANIMAL … | Gonzales | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1726
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…WRIT OF POSSESSION. DEFERRED BILLS Number Sponsor Subtitle HB1726 Gramlich TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS KIDS ONLINE SAFETY ACT. SB3…”
|
TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS KIDS ONLINE SAFETY ACT. | Gramlich | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
HB1848
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ENCE A DEFENDANT FOR A CHARGE THAT RESULTS IN A CONVICTION. HB1848 Hudson TO AMEND THE LAW REGARDING THE PRESUMPTION THAT AN A…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW REGARDING THE PRESUMPTION THAT AN AWARD OF JOINT CUSTODY BETWEEN PARENTS … | Hudson | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB144
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…TY CORRECTION IN CRIME REDUCTION AND PREVENTION ACTIVITIES. SB144 B. King CONCERNING THE BACKLOG OF INMATES AWAITING TRANSFER…”
|
CONCERNING THE BACKLOG OF INMATES AWAITING TRANSFER TO THE DIVISION OF CORRECTION; TO PROVIDE FOR … | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB145
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…REATE COUNTY JAIL-STATE INMATE CLOSE-TO- HOME PARTNERSHIPS. SB145 B. King TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING THE ALLOCATION OF…”
|
TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING THE ALLOCATION OF FUNDS RESULTING FROM LITIGATION INVOLVING THE USE … | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB452
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…SB6 B. King TO CREATE THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF VACCINE HARM. SB452 B. King CONCERNING CERTAIN CONTRACTS FOR MAINTENANCE OR REC…”
|
CONCERNING CERTAIN CONTRACTS FOR MAINTENANCE OR RECYCLING OF WIND TURBINES UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB461
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…Rice Sen. Matt McKee REGULAR AGENDA Number Sponsor Subtitle SB461 J. Scott TO COLLECT DATA REGARDING THE USE OF SOLITARY CONF…”
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TO COLLECT DATA REGARDING THE USE OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN ARKANSAS PRISONS AND JAILS. | J. Scott | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB462
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…USE OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN ARKANSAS PRISONS AND JAILS. SB462 J. Scott TO CREATE A CERTIFICATE OF EMPLOYABILITY FOR A PER…”
|
TO CREATE A CERTIFICATE OF EMPLOYABILITY FOR A PERSON WITH A FELONY CONVICTION; AND TO … | J. Scott | Sine Die adjournment |
|
SB472
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…OR RECYCLING OF WIND TURBINES UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES. SB472 J. Bryant TO CREATE THE VIOLATION OF PURCHASE OR POSSESSION…”
|
TO CREATE THE VIOLATION OF PURCHASE OR POSSESSION OF AN E-LIQUID PRODUCT OR VAPOR PRODUCT … | Underwood | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB477
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…AND CIRCUIT COURTS TO ISSUE CERTIFICATES OF EMPLOYABILITY. SB477 G. TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF THEFT OF EQUIPMENT RENTAL SERVI…”
|
TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF THEFT OF EQUIPMENT RENTAL SERVICES. | G. Stubblefield | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB5
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…NFORCEMENT OR CRIME VICTIMS REPARATIONS BOARD. Page 2 of 3 SB5 B. King TO ADD THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG HA…”
|
TO ADD THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG HARM OR HOMICIDE. | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB501
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…OFFENSE OF THEFT OF EQUIPMENT RENTAL SERVICES. Stubblefield SB501 J. Scott TO CREATE THE TENANT POSSESSIONS RECOVERY ACT; AND…”
|
TO CREATE THE TENANT POSSESSIONS RECOVERY ACT; AND TO REQUIRE A LANDLORD TO PROVIDE CERTAIN … | J. Scott | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB509
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…OR HER PARENT OR GUARDIAN BEFORE A CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION. SB509 G. TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF THEFT OF EQUIPMENT RENTAL SERVI…”
|
TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF THEFT OF EQUIPMENT RENTAL SERVICES. | G. Stubblefield | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB548
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…E TO A TENANT WHEN A COURT HAS ISSUED A WRIT OF POSSESSION. SB548 G. Leding TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING WARRANTS OF ARREST; A…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING WARRANTS OF ARREST; AND TO REQUIRE THAT NOTICE OF A … | G. Leding | Sine Die adjournment |
|
SB549
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…WARRANT BE SENT TO THE PERSON NAMED IN THE ARREST WARRANT. SB549 G. Leding TO ENSURE THAT MANDATED COSTS AND FEES PAID BY A…”
|
TO ENSURE THAT MANDATED COSTS AND FEES PAID BY A DEFENDANT IN A CRIMINAL CASE … | G. Leding | Sine Die adjournment |
|
SB566
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…N AN ACQUITTAL, A DISMISSAL, OR AN ORDER OF NOLLE PROSEQUI. SB566 B. King PROVIDE FOR FUNDING FOR THE EXPANSION, IMPROVEMENT,…”
|
PROVIDE FOR FUNDING FOR THE EXPANSION, IMPROVEMENT, OR CONSTRUCTION OF STATE AND COUNTY CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES; … | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB581
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…ORRECTIONAL FACILITIES; AND TO ADDRESS PRISON OVERCROWDING. SB581 B. King TO CREATE THE POULTRY INTEGRATORS DECEPTIVE TRADE P…”
|
TO CREATE THE POULTRY INTEGRATORS DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES AND TAXPAYER PROTECTION ACT. | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB595
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…NG; AND TO CREATE THE OFFENSE OF UNLAWFUL ROOSTER FIGHTING. SB595 G. Leding TO PROVIDE FOR A MINOR'S RIGHT TO CONSULT WITH HI…”
|
TO PROVIDE FOR A MINOR'S RIGHT TO CONSULT WITH HIS OR HER PARENT OR GUARDIAN … | G. Leding | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB6
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG HARM OR HOMICIDE. SB6 B. King TO CREATE THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF VACCINE HARM. SB4…”
|
TO CREATE THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF VACCINE HARM. | B. King | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB609
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…OR HER PARENT OR GUARDIAN BEFORE A CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION. SB609 J. Scott TO PROVIDE FOR A MINOR'S RIGHT TO CONSULT WITH HIS…”
|
TO PROVIDE FOR A MINOR'S RIGHT TO CONSULT WITH HIS OR HER PARENT OR GUARDIAN … | J. Scott | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB628
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…OFFENSE OF THEFT OF EQUIPMENT RENTAL SERVICES. Stubblefield SB628 Gilmore TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING COURT TRANSCRIPT FEES;…”
|
TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING COURT TRANSCRIPT FEES; AND TO INCREASE THE TRANSCRIPT FEES TO … | Gilmore | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB630
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…NING HEARINGS ON THE REVOCATION OF PROBATION OR SUSPENSION. SB630 B. Davis TO REQUIRE ONLY A COURT TO FIX PUNISHMENT IF A DEF…”
|
TO REQUIRE ONLY A COURT TO FIX PUNISHMENT IF A DEFENDANT IS CHARGED WITH A … | B. Davis | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB631
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…THE TRANSCRIPT FEES TO WHICH A COURT REPORTER IS ENTITLED. SB631 B. Davis TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING HEARINGS ON THE R…”
|
TO AMEND ARKANSAS LAW CONCERNING HEARINGS ON THE REVOCATION OF PROBATION OR SUSPENSION. | B. Davis | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB641
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…IS IN A CHILD'S BEST INTEREST WHEN THERE IS DOMESTIC ABUSE. SB641 D. Wallace TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING WORK-RELEASE PROGRAM…”
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TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING WORK-RELEASE PROGRAMS; AND TO ALLOW A SHERIFF TO ELECT TO … | D. Wallace | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
|
SB642
· 1 mention in agenda
Matched: “…SEX OFFENDER ON A DRIVER'S LICENSE OR IDENTIFICATION CARD. SB642 J. Petty TO CREATE THE FAMILIES' RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIE…”
|
TO CREATE THE FAMILIES' RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ACT. | J. Petty | Died in Senate Committee at Sine Die adjournment. |
Machine transcript
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We used to have. We have a quorum,
Senator McKee is one of your bills short? Well, what's going on with Well. 644.
Speaker 13
5:02
Go do it. No. Senate Bill 644. And if it's gonna let him explain to
Speaker 15
5:25
me how we're gonna. Serra McKee, if y'all would Identify yourselves for the record. Matt McKee State Senate District 6.
Speaker 17
5:34
JD Harper, Arkansas manufactured Housing Association. You're
a Senate Bill 644. Mr. Chairman, if it's OK, I'll
Speaker 15
5:40
let Mr. JD tell you what we're doing, all
Speaker 21
5:44
right. 6:44 members and Mr. Chairman, the, it's a clarification of the writ
Speaker 17
5:50
of possession statute in a case recently, we had a county attorney that was telling the sheriff and the execution of the writ of possession that the strict letter of the law had to be followed and the personal
property had to be removed and stored in a public warehouse. Uh, it's hard to do that with a manufactured home. There's not a lot of public warehouse spaces where you can move a house off the property and store it in a public warehouse. The amendment to that section would be that if the home is there, the writ of possession is is executed, that the House would stay there for 30 days. People can make arrangements to move the house somewhere else. Uh, just didn't make a practical application of the statute or a writ of possession to move the
unit to take the air conditioning loose, take the plumbing loose, take the skirting out, take the anchoring out and add thousands of dollars of cost to the to the home to move it. So that's, that's what 644. It was part of another bill that was in committee that didn't move, and I asked Senator McKee to strip it out and here it is. We'd be glad to answer any questions. Questions from committee. Harry none. There's
no one here to testify for or against central key. Would you like to
close for your bill? Close for my bill. I've moved for a due pass and Ask for a good vote. Got to do pass from Central McKee, got a second from Senator
Gilmore, any discussion? Hearing none, all for the motion signified by saying ah Hearing none, all for the motion signified by saying a all post. Thank you committee.
Motion carried Congratulations, you have passed your bill. Representative Brown. Which one? The one that was here all morning.
What bill are we hearing? House Bill 1967. House Bill 1967. Representative of you would identify
Representative Matt Brown
Unverified
7:56
yourself for the record. Representative Carolyn Brown, District 67. Um, committee, I really wish I didn't have to bring this bill to you, but evil people are learning how to uh to be even more evil and um our people are suffering and being taken advantage of and being extorted
with by their images, um. As our laws currently stand under Arkansas Code 526314, the crime of distributing sexual images without consent is limited in scope. It only applies when the offender is in a current or former dating relationship with the victim. But the reality is image-based abuse in today's digital world is far broader, more sophisticated, and far more harmful than our current statute accounts for. This amendment
does 3 key things. First, it the requirement that the perpetrator be a current or former sexual partner or family member of the victim. This change reflects the reality that these violations often come from acquaintances, strangers, and those acting out of malice or financial incentive, not just intimate partners. Second, it expands the definition of intent to harm. Under this amendment, if the offender distributes an image with the purpose to cause physical, mental, economic, or
reputational harm or exchange for something of value, it will be classified as a felony. This appropriately recognizes the serious and often devastating consequences of these acts. Third, it It preserves the distinction between malicious conduct and other cases that while still harmful, May lack that clear intent to harm in those instances, the offense remains a misdemeanor,
ensuring our laws maintain proportionality and fairness. This is a carefully balanced survivor informed update to our law that responds to the growing and deeply damaging crisis of nonconsensual image sharing. It ensures that Arkansas does not fall behind in addressing this modern form of abuse while continuing to respect due process and appropriate. financing Um, this bill is narrowly focused so that it does not conflict with representatives
Meeks, HB 1529 concerning deep fake, and it has the attorney General, the Attorney General's office has reviewed it and is in support of it. Questions from committee hearing
Senator Ben Gilmore
Unverified
10:38
Senator Gilmore. Just really quick, representative, and I just, just more because it's out of curiosity. Why, why are we changing it from sexual images or recordings to intimate
images. Is there, is there, was there a specific reason that vernaculars used
Representative Matt Brown
Unverified
10:58
or Um No, I don't really know why
Senator Ben Gilmore
Unverified
11:01
we changed that. I was just I don't know. Yeah, that's fine. I mean, you clearly have it defined. I just didn't know
Representative Matt Brown
Unverified
11:09
if there was a particular reason, but that's fine. People are sharing images that they have taken after drugging individuals and molesting them, uh, they're
taking images of loved ones. They're taking images of their fiancees, their wives, family members. It's, it's really Horrible what's going on. Thank you. Other questions from committee? If you would care to, I would be glad
to read a brief story if you want to hear that or if you're ready to vote, I'm ready to for a due pass. Thank you. I think we're probably ready to vote, but we
have two people here signed up to speak for.
Uh Like I McManaahan, Catherine McMenahan, Sky Tap. You're good. Well you
Speaker 42
12:08
can see one here and just push. Intro introduce yourself. Do you recognize me? You'll recognizeen Rice.
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
12:20
Yeah. You can introduce Representative Brown, I know you've got witness ears. I know they've been waiting. We've got to go back in session at 5:15. Do you want to pass
your bill? I want to pass this bill. I'll make a motion for immediate consideration. motion
for immediate consideration. Anytime we decide to vote to vote I have a motion for immediate
consideration. There is no second from Ser McKee, there is no discussion. All for
the motion signified by saying I, I'll post motion carry, uh, have a motion to pass from Gilmore, 2 from Senator Des. Any discussion? Hearing none, all for the motion signified by saying aye, all opposed. Motion carried. Congratulations, Representative Brown, you have passed your bill. Thank you,
committee. My apologies to the witnesses, but we're trying to get these bills through, uh. Representative
Speaker 52
13:25
Brown number 2 1959 I. from here. House Bill 1959
Speaker 55
13:39
representative, would you identify yourself for the record. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Matt Brown, District 55. Uh 1959
Speaker 57
13:48
is a very simple bill. It's a little bit of a civil procedure. I'd say modernization, whenever you get
Speaker 58
13:55
a judgment in civil court in this state, your judgment's good for 10 years, and at the end of 10 years when you most likely have not been paid, you have to follow the process called, now we pronounce it skyriacci, I think it's actually pronounced sky Rafacius in order to renew that judgment. It's a little bit convoluted. You have to file a writ with the court. You have to serve a copy on the defendant. You have to go then go in and have a hearing, of course, there's no objection, there's no hearing, you cancel the hearing, and then you get your order. It's just a very convoluted process. This bill, if passed, would simplify that process. Most states, I believe, have gotten rid of this entire process and essentially it's
more like when you renew a mortgage in that you would just simply file a notice in your court case, serve a copy on the defendant and the notice would just say, hey, the judgment is still outstanding, this is how much is owed, gives the defendant a chance to come in and object, to have
Speaker 57
14:37
an objection, but it simplifies the process. Be glad to answer any questions you may have. questions from committee. Very none, I don't believe there's anyone here
to testify against for or against. Would you like to close for your bill? I'm closed. I appreciate a good vote, Mr. Chair. Motion do pass from Senator McKee.
Second from Senator Johnson, any discussion? Hearing none, all for the motion signified by saying aye, oppose
motion carried. Congratulations, Representative Brown, #2. You have you missed, you have passed your bill.
that correct? Yes, Mr. Chair, would you identify yourself for the record. Yes, Brianne Davis,
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
15:28
State Senate District 25. You are to present your bill. House Bill 1984. Um, so this bill came from Speaker Evans, who had a constituent issue related to the identification of a child sex offender in their community. This simply allows designation on a driver's license that would allow law enforcement to more readily identify level 3 and level 4 sex offenders. Several states already do this, um, and we know that level 3 and 4 are considered to have high risk of
reoffense, typically with a history of repeat sexual offending um or strong anti-social violent, or predatory character. istic s and requires community notification, so this would just be a symbol or mark on the driver's license, um, that would help law enforcement more easily identify them. I'm happy to take any questions.
Questions from committee. Center Stubblefield, do you
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
16:25
recognize a trooper or an officer makes a
an arrest and they punch it in, doesn't that automatically show that? To them, the information you're talking
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
16:38
about. I'm not sure. I'm not sure whether it does
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
16:43
or not in their system. I talked to a trooper just before we left and asked him about it and he said, yes, the minute they hit a button in that car, it verifies whether they've had any previous convictions of child molestation or anything. So they have that already in their system. So,
I don't know if this bill is just redundant or if it does the same thing,
Speaker 66
17:08
I don't know why. Yeah, I think this came from a trooper, an Arkansas
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
17:13
state trooper. I think it just allows them to more easily and quickly identify if there's a sex offender, so some states have it written very, very large across the top of the driver's license. Um, there's been debate over that and some, um, you know, different court cases, but this one would just like you see, if you wear contact lenses or
different things that you may see on someone's driver's license that other states do. This would simply be some type of mark or symbol letting them know they're level 3 or level 4 sex offenders. Other questions from committee? Hearing none,
we have Robert Cobs signed up to speak against. But we have our time.
Robert Combs
Unverified
18:03
Thank you. Yes, we are still under time limit of 2 minutes. Good afternoon, Chairman, Vice Chairman, members of the committee. My
name is Robert Colmes, and I'm a registered sex offender, level 3 high risk. I wanted to explain that when you're stopped by the police before they make it up to your door, they've already run your license tag, and every license tag that belongs to a registered sex winter is identified in their computer system, not only if it belongs to you, but if you have access to it, a company
car, your wife's car, it connects to that register, so they know that before they reach the window. Once they do reach the window, they ask for your registration proof of insurance. And they ask for your driver's license when they run the driver's license, any law enforcement agency will come back with, if there are any warrants out for your arrest if you're a registered sex offender, whatever the status is, so for law enforcement this is not an issue. The only issue is the public
humiliation when you go to open a bank account, when you cash a check at Walmart or Kroger's, having something that identifies you as a registered sex offender is not helping community safety. It's helping punish or humiliate the people who are on the registry for the rest of their lives. And when it comes to recidivism and the chance of reoffending. I was in this same room last session when the Arkansas Community Corrections said that the recidivism rate was much
lower than I even thought it was. Nationally it's 3.5% in the state of Arkansas, it's 3% recidivism for someone on the registry. That that's a level 3 or
Speaker 81
19:47
4, still 3%. If you have any questions, I'll
Robert Combs
Unverified
19:50
be happy to answer your questions. Questions from committee. See none. Thank
you for your testimony. Thank you. Centra Davis, you were recognized to close for your bill.
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
20:08
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, like I said, this would just have uh some type of mark, nothing big and bold like a lot of other, like several other states do where it says sex offender or something like that at the top. It's just a mark like we have for several other things on a driver's license to give indication for law enforcement sooner. Thank you. Will the committee Motion to pass from Senator
Gilmore, 2 from Senator McKee. Any discussion? Harry Nunn, all for the motion signified by saying aye. All opposed. Congratulations, Senator Davis, your bill has passed. Sorry Right. OK, we're at 5:13 and we have to be back in session at 5:15. So
we will be back, we will, we're recessing a phone call of the chair, which will probably be up on adjournment.
Lindsay Thomas
Unverified
1:08:21
Yeah But Call this meeting to order, chair sees a quarrel. Representative What, Bill? Uh, custom. House Bill 1975.
I'll see House Bill 1975. That What did we do with it?
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
1:09:47
It's computers there. I don't know. OK. You're recognized for emotion, Mr. Chair, uh, like Senator Stubblefield, I was the only ones that were opposed, uh, with this bill, we got more information and I would make a motion to pass.
OK, Representative, could you first identify yourself for the record? state
Speaker 97
1:10:13
representative Zach Graham District 5. OK, we have a motion from
Senator Ross, a second from center D's. Any discussion. Hearing none, all
for the motion signified by saying a motion carried congratulations representative. You have you. Thank you for your time this evening.
I believe the bill we are about to hear is House Bill 1916 Representative Bentley is on her way. Unless someone has something
I'll stay right here. for a while. This While we are waiting on Representative Bentley. There are a lot of people signed up to testify.
The sensing this is not just The end of the day, it is the end of the
session and sensing the mood of this committee, uh, if y'all have someone in particular that you think we ought to hear, move them to the top of the list. My top of the list is just whoever signed up first because I can see this committee. They may go through and listen to everybody, but I can see them when they get their minds made up, making a motion to vote immediately, so if you all want to get together
and decide who you really want to speak, and get. them at the top of the list. We'll be sure that they
get heard. Or I'll do what I can until they make a motion.
Representative Bentley. Yes. Representative Bentley. Are we hearing House Bill 1916?
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:15:34
OK, would you identify yourself for the record. Thank you, Chairman
Committee. State Representative Mary Bentley, District 54. Representative Bentley, you are recognized to
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:15:50
present your bill. Thank you, colleagues. House Bill 1916 is amendment to Act 274 that Senator Stubblefield and I pass with your help in
2023. The purpose of Act 274 was to protect minors from medical malpractice. This act gives
minors and their parents 15 years after the child turns 18 to file a civil lawsuit against a health care professional who performs, excuse me I've been running over here, gender transition procedure or gender affirming intervention. Gender forming care is the affirmation of a minor's self-diagnosis of a gender confusion. For decades, healthcare professionals practiced what was called watch and wait when a child had gender confusion. They did not affirm the confusion. They'd rather acknowledged it and combined it with
dissidents-oriented counseling, with therapy until the minor got through puberty. This treatment, watch and wait, resulted in the vast majority of child patients overcoming in the gender confusion when they got through puberty. Now with gender forming care, Excuse me, Jennifer McCa, on the other hand, results in 92% of the child patients remaining in gender confusion when they get through puberty. Unfortunately, a decade ago, ideological activists pressured the psychiatric Association to start using gender affirming
care instead of the successful watch and wait treatment, and the results for the youth in our nation suffering with gender confusion have been disastrous. Since healthcare professionals began using gender forming care including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones. We have seen a 370% increase and transgender identifying youth. Let me repeat that again. Since healthcare professionals began using gender forming care including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones,
we have seen a 370% increase in transgender identifying youth in our nation. Multiple poles across the country show that 80% of Americans oppose. knows what's happened to the youth in our nation with gender ideology and gender affirming care. My hopes for the passage of HB 1916 is that the healthcare professionals will return to what's best to enhance the child's well-being. Decades of research that show most transgender youth struggle with past trauma or underlying mental health issues. Transgender patients are 4 times as likely to be diagnosed with substance
disorder. 4 times as likely to be diagnosed with 1 or more mental disorders, 5 times more likely to have been diagnosed with a mood disorder or anxiety disorder. 10 times more likely to have been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder and 13 times as likely to have diagnosed with PTSD. Given these strong associations with mental illness is necessary to consider whether gender confusion is related to the development of other mental health conditions. Gender confusion may cause or exacerbate anxiety and depression symptoms. Mental health conditions may contribute
to the development of gender confusion. But regardless, it's difficult to imagine any case in which gender confusion enhances a child's well-being. Gender forming care, including medical interventions, carry a host of known physical risks, for example, cross-sex hormones are associated with a reduced bone density stunted growth blood clots and fertility and cancer. Many of the physical changes caused by these treatments are permanent. 98% of the children prescribed puberty blockers subsequently proceed to cross-sex hormones. Puberty blockers cause brain
swelling and vision loss, and these drugs are also used to castrate sex offenders chemically. These medications have not gotten under undergone sound peer reviewed evaluations for safety or efficacy for causing puberty. There's no evidence basing. There's no evidentiary basis for asserting the harms they cause are fully reversible. Unfortunately, a large percentage of these minors who start with puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones pursue the surgical interventions that scar their bodies forever. Transgender medical interventions should be understood for what they are.
Grotesque experiments that stunt and suppress a child's natural development and surgically mutilate their bodies in the service of scientific fantasies. While the long term effects of transgender medical interventions on children are unknown. No credible evidence supports the claim that they benefit a child's mental health. Indeed, research on adults has not shown these interventions to improve mental health or to reduce suicidality.
Systemic reviews and the effects of puny blockers do not support claims of improved mental health or reduced suicidality.
And also the far less risky approach has been termed first student to harm or first do no harm, recognizes the dangers of transgendermental interventions and cautions providers to pursue exploratory psychotherapy instead and to help gender confused children navigate puberty rather than fear it. The advantages of the exploratory psychotherapy over so-called affirmation are strong. Have more to present, gentlemen, but I'm not, I know we're all short on time and short on sale. I just want to say that I'm asking you to put the health and
well-being of children in Arkansas first, to stop basing their care on gender ideology and gender forming care. Let's return Arkansas to a place where a child's well-being is put first, and adults are not making the decisions whether they will ever be able to be parents or not. Recall that absent gender ide ideology inspired gender affirmation. Most gender confused children will naturally desist and thereby avoid proceeding. Just transgender medical interventions, including surgical mutilations, a genuine concern for their well-being should incline us to not to want to understand and treat the
source of these child's distress. 10 years ago we never heard of treating mental illness by mutilating minors with double mastectomies or removing genital organs. We're allowing adults to take away their ability to ever conceive a child. Gender forma here is a first step in that process. HB 1960 simply allows minors and parents as civil cause of action to sue for damages from gender forming care up to 15 years after a child turns 18, and I just want to quickly I know on the house floor this kind of related this to if a child was
suffering from anorexia in a very malnourished and I went to the doctor and the doctor looked at that child, said, you know what, you really are obese. You really do need to get on this weight loss plan. Let me give you this weight loss plan. If that weight loss plan doesn't work, let me put you on some diet pills. If that doesn't work, let's do a gastric bypass, we would call that severe malpractice, and that's exactly what we're doing to our kids here, which should not be affirming a child's self-diagnosis. We should be helping that child to become well like we did for forever before Gender for My Care came
onto the scene. So again, this bill is an amendment to what we did with Senator Stubblefield in 2023, and I'd be happy to take questions
from the committee. Questions from committee. Senator Tucker, you recognize.
Speaker 125
1:22:27
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Starting on page one of the bill, Representative Bentley.
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:22:34
The new language is online 27 to 31. And I want to talk about puberty bloggers and cross-sex hormone therapy in a moment, but before we get to that,
On Las 27 through 29. It says gender affirming intervention means an intervention to support a patient's identification with the gender opposite of his or her biological sex, including Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone therapy, so the bill explicitly intends to include anything. First of all, let me ask you this the bill is addressing mental health professionals, correct, generally, OK.
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:23:17
So this the addition is the original bill had more, but
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:23:21
yes, this bill 1916, yes. So this is prohibiting a mental health professional from providing any gender affirming treatment, whether it's Puberty blockers, cross-sex hormone therapy are
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:23:33
not, correct? a gender affirming, yes, we don't want to affirm a a minor's self-diagnosis who want that. Uh Excuse me,
I ran over. We want the psychiatrist and mental health to treat the underlying
causes for the gender confusion, which they did forever, which resulted in the pass of an 80, you know, 75
to 88% success rate and when those children got through puberty. They were no longer suffering gender confusion. So until 10 years
ago when W Path and those changed changed things to gender forming care. We're having great success rates. I mean, if we had a cancer, our child was suffering from cancer and we had someone that was 88% success rate, and all of a sudden we changed that and now we're seeing with evidence of a massive increase with 30 87%
increase of gender, transgender identifying youth in our nation. I think we have an issue. I think we have a
problem and so healthcare workers even in this state have asked me to address the situation and get back to what we were doing before, which was successful. So I'm not, so we're saying yes, we want them to
mentally to treat these children underlying issues like they did in the past and not affirm a minor self-diagnosis of gender confusion, yes. OK, I'm not
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:24:41
going to interrupt you. That was well, well more than what I had asked about, but uh Uh
A mental health professional if this bill passes would be precluded from addressing their patient with a different pronoun, would they not? Are
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:24:58
they affirming their self-diagnosis if they're affirming their self-diagnosis, I would say yes. But that again we're looking at the right, the cause of action is a civil lawsuit by damage done to a child, so you know,
at the end of the day it's a parent or a child bring a lawsuit because they have severe damage, right? So if we, if we were in
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:25:22
court, then I would object to the terminology of affirming a self-diagnosis as assuming a fact, not in evidence. I'm not going to debate that point with you, but just because I'm not debating it doesn't mean I I agree. with that terminology, but my question very narrowly is a mental health professional, if this bill passes, would be precluded from addressing their patient by a different name or pronoun that is on their birth certificate, correct? Not, I'm not a lawyer
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:25:49
and I'm here again coming as a
healthcare professional, wanted to help the health of our of our kids in Arkansas. What we're doing is not working just like in the past when all of a sudden we're doing lobectomy on mental health patients. I want us to return to things that are working, so to get into, I'm not a lawyer. I'm not here coming as a lawyer. I'm coming as a helper healthcare professional to your judiciary committee. So Representative, can you pull the mic any closer? I can hold
the microphones at the house and they're falling apart, so I didn't want
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:26:16
to. There we go. Is that better? Yes. OK, well, let's talk about the
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:26:23
medical aspect then of the bill. We'll talk about puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone therapy. Are there a lot of mental health professionals providing this treatment to youth in Arkansas. I know there are in Northwest Arkansas, yes. OK. I heard you use the term surgical mutilation in your presentation several times. Do puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone therapy constitute surgical mutilation. No, sir, but
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:26:54
patients surveys have shown and studies have shown repeatedly that young people that take those 98% of them go on to get surgical interventions. That's a pretty high rate. Is that
after their 18th birthday, It could be. Could be, could be before. I'm not I'm not looking at the dates. We're just saying those puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones are given when they're a minor before they go through when they're going through puberty, correct? So that could happen when they're 20, but to me it's still a direct result of getting cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers that you have a double mastectomy on a healthy
young woman that I was done with the past 6 months here in the state of Arkansas right here in Little Rock. So to me that's horrible that we're, you know, when they, when they're given these medications, they can no longer be a parent. They cannot conceive anymore. I mean that's to me we're we're allowing an adult to make the decision for a child. The child cannot point when they are minor decide where they want to be conceive a child when they're adults. They can't, that's why we, that's why I don't want to get tattoos because we don't want them making lifelong decisions, correct? So that child cannot make the decision whether that one day they want to conceive a child or not.
We're taking that that choice from them away when they're prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:28:01
hormones. Are there conditions that puberty blockers are prescribed for other than gender dysphoria. Yes, they are,
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:28:07
but they're not affected in this bill. Neither is
unisex. I know that in the house they brought up UNISE, it's not affected by this
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:28:17
bill at all. You've identified a number of risks. With puberty blockers, do they apply equally to those that are receiving puberty blockers for treatment other than gender
dysphoria as they do for gender dysphoria. They're
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:28:29
giving it a totally different ratio and they're given to enhance the same sex of that person, so no, they're not, they don't have the same. They have been there has been research done because that's been done for a very long time young girls that are having periods early. They've been given those for years and the studies on that have not shown the side effects as they have with this medication given for
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:28:51
transgender patients. So your position is that puberty blockers are medically safe for
conditions like starting puberty too early. But they're not medically safe for someone who may be transgender. I'm not, I don't have research right
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:29:05
in front of me, but there are times that they're given a very short duration. Right Very short
duration, so there's a lot, a lot of things involved. I just know that I've looked at multiple studies showing that children that receive puberty blockers and cross sex hormones a vast. That's why they they no longer do this in England. Many places have stopped doing because of the bone density, all
the different things that are happening in children, you know, in the past probably wasn't researched as
much as it is now, and there is no research to show. That those are safe. And I jumped through some
of my testimony, right, because we're short on time on this part of the session so I can go into it deeper if you want me
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:29:46
to, so. Going back to the bill from 23 that this is amending. We're not, we're not changing the fact that in a standard medical
malpractice case, the plaintiff has to prove medical negligence on the part of the defendant. Correct, correct. And this and any claim under this bill, you don't have to prove negligence. You just prove. There is no mental state. It's a strict
liability claim, is it not? I think if you read, um,
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:30:14
I'm gonna pull it up and read it exactly. I was reading it earlier, so. I think you look on page 2, lines one I
read through there. Actually on time or on a minor
is liable to the minor if the minors injured, including without limitations, and physical, psychological, emotional, or physiological injury by the gender transition procedure, gender forming intervention or related treatment. So we have not changed
the exact same as it was when we passed it in 2023, right? But there's no standard in there
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:30:47
that the defendant in this case the mental health professional in the case of the 23 legislation, a medical professional, there's no indication. There's no requirement in the legislation that they had to do anything
negligently. They just did what they did to a professional standard, and they would still be held liable under this bill, correct? I think your question
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:31:06
is vague to me. Can you get a little more into the details of what you're
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:31:13
asking me. I'm sorry. Can you repeat that for me? Yes, under a, under a standard medical malpractice claim. The plaintiff accuses the defendant of committing professional negligence, meaning they did their work in an unprofessional manner.
In this case, a claim brought under either the 23 bill or this one. A plaintiff could successfully recover against the defendant, even if the defendant performed the service professionally. They do not have to, the defendant does not have to perform the service in a negligent manner. They just performed the service period. They may have done it perfectly, but they would still be liable under this bill even though they had not been negligent in any manner. Is
that not the case? I don't, I don't agree with
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:31:57
that at all. I think with gender a
minor, not able to conceive a child, then they severe damage done to that person, things that they're making decisions for them as a minor that they can't make at that time. So I think there has been great damage. I think the judge and the jury would determine it's not they're going to instantly
get a reward of a case, right? They're going to go before the judge and the jury, and there's going to have to
be shown some results, but giving gender. Those gender confused children puberty blockers or cross sex home when there is vast damage that can never conceive a child. Their sexual life is destroyed, so to me that's serious damage
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:32:32
that's been done to that patient. If you take a puberty blocker, you're incapable of conceiving
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:32:38
a child. There are studies that show that they don't have puberty. There's long lasting effects is all we're having trouble hearing you
Speaker 166
1:32:43
again. Yes, I'm sorry, sir. Yes. There's multiple studies to show that. But not
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:32:56
for the children who take puberty blockers for a different condition.
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:32:58
It's given a lower dose in a shorter amount of time for a different reasons,
so I'm sorry, I'm just going by the research that I've seen on this and I've not looked at research
on that since I was in nursing school a
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:33:10
long time ago. What's some of the research on the other, on the other part that you're citing.
That puberty blockers can prevent you from conceiving children. Excuse me, you said from the research you've seen, puberty blockers can prevent someone from conceiving children. I'm just curious what research is that that you're referring to I'll be happy to send the report to you full detailed report for you to read yourself. OK, well, I'm being expected to vote on this bill
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:33:35
now. Excuse me, I'm being expected to vote on this bill now. Well, I'm just, I've done the research, I've read it. I mean you can, you're welcome to do it yourself as well too, but there's multiple, multiple studies exactly why they're not doing, giving the at all in the United Kingdom and in many other nations have quit doing it all to minors because of the multiple side effects. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Other questions from committee,
Senator Ben Gilmore
Unverified
1:34:00
Senator Gilmore. Thank you, Mr. Chair. So Representative, thank you. um.
Being here and taking the questions just follow up on Senator Tucker's question. You, so you're a healthcare professional many years as a professional. I worked at Children's for over a decade. Yes, right, so is is there a standard of care associated with
Speaker 174
1:34:19
gender affirming care that you're aware of. Yes, there is a standard of care, and
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:34:24
that's exactly what I'm addressing with this bill, the standard of care is causing great chaos at some point we have to push back on that standard of care. The standard of care was put into place a
decade ago by, like I said, ideological activists that pushed them to say let's not call this gender identity disorder and call it gender dysphoria and let's start doing gender forming care and so they have switched to gender pharma care, and gender firing care is reaping havoc across our nation and across the state and what I'm
addressing with this with this bill. Other questions from committee? If I could follow up with that chairman just real quickly,
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
1:35:09
nation have passed bills against the medical interventions. We are the first state to look at this. I know Texas has got this bill that they're working at right now. At one point, at some point, someone has to stand up and say the policy that we're doing is destroying children's lives, and that's what's leading to the medical intervention is gender forming care, and so this bill is to say, if you, if your body is damaged, you're no longer able to conceive children we have a can add that to the malpractice that we passed two years ago with Senator Stubblefield, so.
Other questions from committee. Hearing none, uh, As The people that are here to testify. saw that you huddled up. Do you have somebody in particular you would like to speak first and let me remind everybody on the committee and everyone testifying that we're on the
Josh Garrett
Unverified
1:36:14
same rules from this morning, 2 minutes each. My name is Josh Garrett and I'm a licensed professional counselor in central Arkansas. Thank you for allowing me to speak today. We are united in our commitment to the well-being of children and families in Arkansas. I'm concerned though because this bill defines a gender affirming intervention as an intervention to support a patient's identification with the gender opposite of his or her biological sex. However, the
bill never clearly defines intervention. And therapy, the therapist is the primary tool for intervention, which the American Psychological Association defines as any action taken to address a client's issues, which includes listening, displaying empathy, and using silence. Given that any action can be deemed an intervention. We need clarity on the bill's stipulations. For example, does the bill only apply to licensed mental health professionals in Arkansas. What about qualified
behavioral health professionals or others who are not licensed but provide mental health care. Do mental health professionals need to be actively employed in Arkansas, or does it also apply to those who are retired. Do the patient and or professional need to be current residents of Arkansas. Are we liable for using silence, reflection, or clarifying questions when a minor discusses their gender identity. Many people go by another name other than their first name. Would using someone's middle name or nickname be considered a gender affirming intervention?
How do we document 2 years of treatment for a minor whose preferred gender is inconsistent with their biological sex. Wouldn't we be in violation of this bill simply by documenting their preferred gender and continuing treatment. Furthermore, if we attempt to follow the proposed safe harbor, we risk violating our ethics by discussing puberty blockers and HRT, which are outside our scope of practice. The ambiguity of this bill creates fears of liability, which will deter mental health professionals from working with minors altogether, worsening the
existing shortage of mental health providers in the state. If your goal is to improve mental health care for minor Arkansans, please vote against this bill and work with the mental health professionals in your state to create a bill that better aligns with our profession, reflects our scope of practice, and ensures ethical care. Thank you. Questions from committee, Senator Tucker. Thank you, Mr. Chair. If
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:38:39
this bill passes, will it prevent you from being able to effectively do your job in treating People under the age of 18 in Arkansas. Thank you.
Other questions from committee? Hearing none, thank
you, have you all selected to Be next. If you'll identify yourself for the record. I am a
Speaker 182
1:39:13
Reverend Gary Teater. I'm an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. I'm also a licensed professional counselor and has been in practice for the last 30 years.
Speaker 183
1:39:23
In those 30 years, I've been appointed to the Arkansas Board of Examiners and counseling by two governors, one Governor Huckabee and one Governor Beebe. I have served on that board of that regulates Arkansas counseling law for 6 years of which of those 6 years, 4 of them, I was the board chair. I'm also a certified brain injury specialist and a national certified clinical mental health counselor. And so in looking at this bill, With lines 27 through 31, if those lines were struck out of this bill.
That I could see where it would address malpractice, especially in areas where people are dealing with medications and drugs and treatments from that perspective. In Arkansas, currently no licensed professional counselor has the ability to prescribe medication or, or treatment for medications, and so when you start talking about puberty blockers, there's not a counselor in Arkansas that's going to be able to do that. And so a lot of the issues it seems like that's being addressed is from the medical model or the medical perspective and not so much from what we practice in
community counseling. And so if those lines were struck from it, then it would allow the therapist to operate and to serve minors and their parents. In Arkansas, a counselor has to provide an informed consent in that informed consent, we can identify populations and issues that we do not want to address. In our informed consent, if we're working with children and minors, we don't know if or when
an issue of gender dysphoria might show up. We may be working with that adolescence or that child for months if not years, and then this comes up into the therapy. We've already established a rapport with that client. We've already established rapport with the family and then as the child progresses in her development, they discussed the concern and questioning their their gender identity at that point. It would be detrimental and harmful to the client for the therapists to say because of this particular law that's now
being considered, we're no longer able to provide you the care that we have been provided for you over the last few years. Also, it would be a mistake to be made that if a therapist is working with a child just because gender identity may come up in that conversation or in the process of that therapy that we're going to change
Speaker 182
1:41:46
the way that we do our therapy because we are a blank slate. We put ourselves in a position to hear the child and the place to wrap it up so I would encourage the committee that's too ambiguous
and it definitely does not relate. It's harmful to the mental health counselor and to the mental health treatment of the kids here in Arkansas, and I would appreciate a
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:42:09
no vote. Questions, Senator Tucker. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to make sure I heard you correctly. Mental health professionals are not providing cross hormone therapies
Speaker 183
1:42:17
and puberty blockers in Arkansas. Arkansas law does not allow a counselor to prescribe any type of medications or to practice outside their scope of practice. This would be practicing outside their scope of practice, which
would be an ethical violation which would cause that therapist to be exposed to lawsuits, and so we have to define our scope of practice. whenever we file with our license with a state licenser board. The scope of practice, uh, with the board to state this is what we're going to be doing with our clients. We have also an informed consent of what we're going to do and what they can expect from us. Thank you. Centur Ds you recognize us?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, thank you for your testimony. Um, you mentioned mental health counseling, and at the end you said this would be harmful to the mental
Speaker 190
1:43:10
health counselors. Could you expound on that? Sure. When
Speaker 183
1:43:16
you're in a relationship with a client. You have to form that relationship with them to where they feel safe, and they can trust you. What is discussed within that counseling session stays within that session with exceptions when you're dealing
with a minor that some things have to be shared with the parent and possibly with legal truth is important in that discussion? Very much so. And to be able to listen to that client. Even if you don't quite agree with them, even if you don't know exactly where they're going, you have to be supportive so that they feel safe enough to be open and talk about their feelings and offer their questions and concerns. That does make sense.
I do believe truth is the utmost importance
in any of those discussions as well, and I think I understand your point about building a relationship and creating an environment there, but I do find it um I find it concerning that in your testimony that you're worried about the harmful nature to the mental health counselors in this situation instead of focusing on the mental health issues that these folks are going through, and that's what the most concern comes from on my end. I appreciate it. Thank you so much. If I can address that. The concern with the mental
Speaker 182
1:44:32
health counselor is the amount of energy and work that they put in to listening
Speaker 183
1:44:37
to a client is exhausting. And so you have to recognize that there is a two-way street there. We have to be protective of the client, but at the same time it's exhausting for the mental health therapist to be that blank slate to not offer their opinion or what they think should be done and so it's exhausting for that mental health professional.
to remain that blank slate which allows that client to explore their issues and their
concerns. Other questions from committee? Uh, pastor. The There seemed to be some confusion. I don't know why there would be, but
Do you know, I'm not asking you to describe it, but do you know what gender? Affirming care is.
Based off of this law, it's, I'm not talking about based off this law. This is a very common term. It's, I know what gender dysphoria is, gender affirming interventions, gender affirming care was
the question I asked because that's uh I know that's what children children's has been doing for years. It's what's happening nationwide,
and so do you know what that is? Not under their definition, no. OK. don't know what the medical
definition of not the medical definition of it, OK. Do you know then as
professional professional counselor, do you know what Counseling was being provided before gender affirming care.
Speaker 182
1:46:19
I do not, other than that, a What has been provided historically through counselors is depending upon their therapeutic approach is to provide a safe nurturing, inclusive place for them to feel that they can share their issues
and concerns without judgment and without intervention as far as trying to convince them to go one
way or the other. OK. All right, thank you. Other questions from
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:46:48
committee, Senator Tucker. Is gender dysphoria the proper term, or should I, should we, should we use different terminology?
Speaker 182
1:46:55
According to the DSM-5, it's gender dysphoria. Thank you. Other
questions from committee. Very non. Thank you, Pastor. Who's next?
When you sit down and turn the mic on, please
Tisha Dean
Unverified
1:47:23
identify yourself for the record. The chair is heavy. Hello, good evening. Can you hear me? We can. Thank you. My name is Tisha Dean. I'm a clinical psychologist practicing in Arkansas, um, thank you so much for uh giving us the time to speak today. I'm gonna try to be quick and I've changed a little bit based on some questions, so bear with me if I hobble along here. I'm a native
Arkansan, born and raised in northeast Arkansas, um, proud graduate of Wiener High School. Um, a proud graduate of the University of. Arkansas and um someone who has spent my entire career increasing access to mental health care in the state of Arkansas. So I'm a psychologist and that means I went to college for 10 years. I completed a one-year internship at UAMS and a one year postdoc training with the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System and to become
a licensed psychologist. Psychologists do not perform surgery or prescribe medication in Arkansas. Ginger and care as we've discussed, is defined medically, um, to as medical, social, and behavioral treatments to help people align their gender identity with their physical traits, which includes hormone therapy, surgery, and supportive services. There's many ways that this bill is detrimental to the mental health
community, and I think it's important to understand that the mental health community is tied to its patients. If mental health community is not, is not healthy, then there are no mental health professionals to help support patients. I hope that you've read carefully the letters that were sent to you by psychologists in our state, because I believe, although I, I believe well meaning, um, representative Bentley uses numbers in her testimony and research that does
not well represent the research uh related to children with gender dysphoria. And if I had the amount of time that Representative Bentley had, I could um go into that in more detail. This bill will increase uncertainty and fear in the mental health professional community, and I've worked really closely with the legislative body to improve access to care and to build good relationships and um I hope that we can continue that that community that together, find a place to
Kirsten Sowell
Unverified
1:49:42
wrap up, yeah, so the other two
Tisha Dean
Unverified
1:49:47
things I wanted to mention as um an increasing liability, so it's going to increase the cost of being a mental health professional, which is going to be detrimental to our state, and again we, we want to care for patients, but we also know that if we don't have mental health professionals in the state that We're not going to have mental health, and the very last thing I wanna say is that we know that our training community, we train psychologists in the state and that they, um, we have, we're having increasing difficulty in recruiting mental health professionals in the state.
Questions from committee. Senator Tucker, you recognize? Thank
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:50:23
you, Mr. Chair. You concur with the pastor's testimony that mental health professionals are not providing puberty blockers across sex hormone therapy to teenagers in Arkansas. Yes, that is not part
of our training or practice. Thank you. Other questions from committee. We keep
Going back to lines 30 and 31 in the bill. While Line 29 says. Biological sex, including without limitation. Oh Puberty blockers and cross sex hormone therapy, so the the legislation says that those things are included. Uh And without limiting it to being uh other things, so
Is there a reason that we have an
Speaker 207
1:51:34
emphasis On those two things. Is that a question for me,
Tisha Dean
Unverified
1:51:38
for you. Sorry, I mean, I think the reason why is because the meta the definition of gender affirming care is related to changing the physical aspects of a person to match what they say their gender identity is, and so usually what that means is
physically changing, so puberty blockers to stop the, the progression of puberty or um surgery. we as mental health professionals do not change the physical physical state of anyone. We talk with them, we help them to think through, um, you know, what's going on in their lives. We help to identify, you know, things that could help them to live healthier, happier lives that our goal is for people to be healthy and happy. We do not
change anybody's physical. Body. OK, so that being
the case, then lines 3031 doesn't apply to you. I don't have that in front of me. I'm sorry. Puberty blockers, the line above says without limitations as puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone therapy since you have nothing to do with those two things, then those two lines don't apply to you. Those are things that we are,
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:52:52
we do not do, and that does not apply to
Tisha Dean
Unverified
1:52:57
us. So the difficulty with the bill is that it uses the word
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:53:04
gender affirming. care in a very broad sense and it does not define it. It states that these things, but not anything that could
be defined as gender affirming care. OK, so you're a psychologist trained psychologists and you have not heard the term gender affirming care. It's not medical. You don't know what it means.
Tisha Dean
Unverified
1:53:28
Yes, sir. Uh I read the definition at the beginning. It's a range of medical, social, and behavioral treatments that help people align their gender identity with their physical traits. OK, so you
Lindsay Thomas
Unverified
1:53:41
do know what it is. Yes sir.
OK. The So I'm not understanding why there would be confusion, confusion about a lack of definition.
Well, the, there's not it reminds me of the argument between a fetus and a baby or
Tisha Dean
Unverified
1:54:09
epidermis in skin, the Hm This bill, sir, is creating a medical malpractice, the ability for medical malpractice for mental health professionals to be sued for. for conducting gender affirming care, but it does not define for mental health professional, what gender forming and care for us
is. It's very broad. We know what it is for a medical professional. We don't do what medical professionals do, so the the adding us into this bill at all does not make sense. All
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:54:46
right, other such Tucker you recognize. So given your testimony that I
say y'all, I mean your colleagues and those in your profession, you aren't changing the physical body of anyone, right? No, sir. So but the types of
treatment that you are providing are emotional
and uh just conversing back and forth with each other in nature, correct? And the way that you read this bill is that it would prohibit you just from having those types of conversations
Tisha Dean
Unverified
1:55:20
with your patients, correct? Yes, due to the, the bro the broad's not a good word, due to the undefined nature of how this bill defines and it's not gender affirming care, it's gender affirming intervention. There is no gender intervention in our medical
nomenclature. We don't anything we don't know what that could, that could be anything that's what our colleague before stated, there's things that could be considered gender affirming interventions, but that's not defined. We did, I did have a conversation with Representative Bentley about um having a definition and modifying or amending the bill, but there wasn't time to do that.
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:56:00
Um, so, With the gender farming intervention, that is very
broad. So the problem with a lot of with, excuse me, the problem with the lack of definition is not a lack of understanding. It's simply how
Tisha Dean
Unverified
1:56:17
broad it will be construed, correct? Yes, and with it being broadly construed, then us as mental health professionals don't know what we can do with patients which again creates a real stress and um then people will just not do it because they don't want, they don't want to
be run afoul of the law. They don't want to, you know, get in a, in a position where they, you
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:56:44
know, they could be sued, right. And generally speaking, do we want there to be less mental health services provided in Arkansas
Tisha Dean
Unverified
1:56:52
or more? No, sir. Um, Arkansas has, um, 73 of our 75 counties are mental health um shortage areas. All right. Thank you. Thank you.
Senator, you're. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is it hard to get a counseling license in Arkansas. I
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:57:14
don't, I don't know about a counseling lessons. It's can be difficult to get a clinical psychology lessons, I mean, and if you have all
the training you know psychologist or counselor, I may have missed that. It's OK. I'm a psychologist.ist, OK, I know we heard from others that were counselor, mental health counselors. Will you help me understand Jen gender dysphoria is a mental issue, correct? It is a diagnosis.
in the DSMile. Yes, OK, will you give me another description of that. Is
Tisha Dean
Unverified
1:57:45
that not a mental issue? It's, it's a mental health diagnosis that, um, it's uh it's I don't know
what you mean by if it's a mental issue was trying to clarify your testimony before you said the Some of the other other descriptions is not what you deal with. It's the, any surgeries or or puberty blockers or cross sex hormone therapies you don't deal with, but you do deal with the mental health side
and gender gender dysphoria is a mental health concern or diagnosis according to your testimony here and so I think it does concern me. I think that's my biggest fear is that you say we're not dealing with some of these other areas, but the areas you are dealing with are just as much of a concern. In fact, dealing with the mental health, maybe even a larger concern, and I think what scares me is if we've got, uh, if it's readily easy in the state of Arkansas to be a mental health counselor or mental
health psychiatrist, and this is how we are addressing a mental diagnosis that concerns me, especially There's not parents around. I think I heard that maybe in another testimony. And so with, with our miners, I believe this is just as a as a big of a concern dealing with our mental health issues in this area, especially speaking truth, even if it's not done with surgeries, would you help me understand your, your opinion of what I just said there.
Tisha Dean
Unverified
1:59:09
Yeah, I certainly can. So to answer your first question, um, I, I didn't
quite understand what you meant by difficult, right? So, um, it It is incredibly difficult in terms of training and the the things that we have to go through to to get to get licensed as a professional, a mental health professional, be it a social worker or a counselor. Like I said at the beginning, I went to college for 10 years. Um, I did a one year internship, a one-year postdoctoral training, and then I had to apply, I had to make sure I've met all the
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
1:59:46
criteria. I had to pass a licensing exam. I also had to pass a an in-person
exam but with all that with all
those hours and training and all your work in Wiener, Arkansas, we still don't, we still even struggle on understanding
Tisha Dean
Unverified
2:00:01
if Junior dystoria is a mental issue. Now, gender dysphoria is a a mental health and it's, it's a diagnosis. So it's like saying ADHD is a diagnosis, right? It's a mental health condition that we can help with, help people to
learn ways to cope better and to um have a skills to organize themselves better, and then there's medical things you can do with ADHD, right? You can prescribe medications, um, and you know, do medical things. So with gender dysphoria, um, that diagnosis is a So there's, there's multiple parts to gender dysphoria. Um, one is that there's the disconnect or a a difference between and I'm going to say right here before I say this, that I'm not the expert in this
area, so I'm going to say this from a psychologist, but I'm not a gendered sphoria expert, but I do, I do know enough
to know about about when we have these interactions with our with our miners, it gets even more and more confusing and we don't go back to what's truth. And I understand trying to build relationships with with clients. But if, if it's really hard to describe, especially for the prefrontal lobe that hasn't been developed. This is what concerns me with, especially with our miners. Yeah, that's
Tisha Dean
Unverified
2:01:19
understandable. Um, so let me explain what gender dysphoria is. Um, so that it's a diagnosis where, so in any medical mental health diagnosis, there are components to it. One component is that you have criteria, so the criteria for that is that there are, there is a biological, physical, sex that you see, and then there is gender, which is what somebody is is a social construct with people identify as as a as a person. That's kind of how it's
identified, but those two things do not match. That is, and, and that there is distress. So with the mental health diagnosis, the person that's coming to us with distress related to this issue, um, we, so as a psychologist whenever someone comes to me with distress about everything, I work with that person to to determine what is the source of that stress and to help them decide for themselves what their choices are for
their, for themselves. Thank you. And so, um, my, I do not in any way influence anybody to make a decision in a certain way, um, not when they have anxiety, not when they have depression. I helped them to identify. For themselves. What is the best thing for their health and well-being, for their long term with it with children we work also with our parents. We have consent and assent forms and um we, we work with people to help
to identify what's the best choice. Representative Bentley does talk a whole lot about, um, watch and wait and the fact that 80% of people um who are with watch and wait, um, go on to Um, continue with their, continue to identify with the the their biological sex, and that is that is completely true, but what she is talking about is a very broad range of people, so any child
that comes in and or minor who comes in that says that they're confused, they have a question, they're they're, they have any identity issue, right? So adolescence and middle school or I did. only in mines. And so that is any landmine, any issue that might be related to how someone identifies as maybe a tomboy or maybe, you know, I, I like ballet, and the boys don't like ballet like I do. Um,
so yeah, almost all children who come in with those kinds of questions, almost all of them. um, can go on and go with and tend to have their physical appearance continue to look and how we think it should conform to their biological sex. A minority about 10%, even less than that, um, you know, less than 1% um continue to have what we call dysphoria and struggle
and um those are the, the, the, the kids that continue to we continue to support and help them to make the decision. that are best for them and their families in the long run. In Arkansas, we do not provide um medical uh changes in physical appearance before um before the age of 18 and um even the, the medical, the psychological convention and the way that we work with kids is we, we
encourage them to do what's best for them and um we did not encourage. people to make changes unless it's what they with lots and lots of help and support and making very sure that
Speaker 202
2:05:13
that is exactly what they want to do. I hope that was helpful. Other questions
Speaker 59
2:05:20
from committee. Harry Nunn, thank you. Thank you.
Lindsay Thomas
Unverified
2:05:24
Who have you all decided would be next.
Hi. My name is Lindsay Thomas and I'm a currently licensed and actively practicing clinical psychologist
Speaker 231
2:05:43
here in Arkansas. I'm speaking today in opposition of HB 1916 as it is currently written. Representative Bentley and I share a common goal to protect vulnerable youth in our state. We also agree that therapists should not aggressively encourage youth to take dramatic measures to alter their gender. However, I have serious concerns that the proposed bill will further limit access to mental health care, endangered children throughout.
Arkansas and contribute to financial burdens for our taxpayers. As Representative Bentley said, gender diverse people experience higher rates of depression, suicidal ideation, substance use, body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, adverse childhood experiences. These negative outcomes are the result of attempting to conceal their gender due to rejection and discrimination. These outcomes directly lead to a high need for medical and mental health care. Fortunately, there is significant research showing that access to gender-affirming care is a associated with decreases in
mental illness, to be clear, gender affirming care can be as simple as a therapist using different pronouns or a different name. Currently, children often wait many months to get mental health care, especially in rural areas while they wait, children continue to experience symptoms of mental illness. They may try to ease their suffering through self-harm or self-medicate with alcohol, prescription, or illicit drugs. There are financial costs to these concerns. These children may require medical care to address the issues that can arise while waiting to see a therapist. With
65% of children in rural areas enrolled in Medicaid. These statistics also cost taxpayer dollars. HB 1916 proposes that rather than providing evidence-based care, providers should instead watch and wait. This approach will directly increase negative outcomes and their associated costs. With its loose definitions of gender affirming care, opening mental health providers up to litigation, HB 1916 will deter providers from working in Arkansas, increased costs of malpractice insurance, limit access to all mental health care, increased wait
times for children to see a therapist, and ultimately cost taxpayer dollars. There Before I ask you to consider the impact that this bill would have on all children in our state, not just transgender children. Please oppose HB 1916. Questions from committee.
Kirsten Sowell
Unverified
2:08:01
Hearing none, thank you. Next, you'll identify yourself for the
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
2:08:12
record. My name is Kirsten Sowell. I'm a licensed clinical social worker and a therapist. I've been practicing for 17 years. If we attempt to follow the proposed safe harbor in this bill. We risk violating our ethics by discussing puberty blockers, which we have already explained is outside of our scope of practice. One of the most troubling parts of this bill is how vaguely it defines gender affirming intervention. Without clear definitions, even widely accepted evidence-based
techniques like asking clients what something means to them. Or using reflective listening could be misinterpreted as influencing a young person's gender identity. There are, these are fundamental tools and therapy. They help clients build self-awareness and mental wellness. They are not about steering anyone towards a specific identity. Yeah, under HB 1916 of a minor grows up and later claims harm, the standard techniques can be used against the therapist in
court, no matter how ethical or appropriate the care was. because the bill doesn't clarify whether someone must be currently licensed or actively working as a provider, even the sponsor of this bill, who has shared that she was a former nurse might be not exempt from its reach. By the bill's own vague logic. public advocacy and authorship of legislation about gender identity can be seen as influencing youth. Could that be seen as an
intervention. We don't know because the bill doesn't tell us. If the bill's own author could be at risk, how are therapists supposed to navigate it safely. When a laws that protect ethical, evidence-based care, not a fear-driven policy that endangers clinicians and confuses clients. The spill causes harm, not safety. Questions from committee. He no,
Kirsten Sowell
Unverified
2:10:09
thank you. Thank you. Who's next.
Nikki Bok
Unverified
2:10:25
Please identify yourself for the record. My name is Nikki Bok. Thank you for hearing me today. I'm a registered
Speaker 237
2:10:33
nurse of 13 years. I've had the privilege of working closely alongside transgender youth and their families. I'm here today to oppose 1916, a bill that will add on to an already harmful law and to providers and mental health professionals that they should not affirm a patient's gender identity, despite the fact that this is best practice. As a nurse with relevant experience, what I would like to convey about
gender affirming care is that despite how the language in this bill leads us to believe this care has always been thoughtful, cautious, and individualized for each patient per standards of care, it has always prioritized mental health therapy and counseling. Oftentimes these patients are only seeking a safe and supportive environment to which many of them have gone on to call life saving and the care of which this bill threatens. As a medical professional, a big concern is that the statements regarding diagnoses and
statistics in this bill and verbalized during these committee hearings are not cited by evidence-based research. This isn't in my notes, but I would also like to mention that I personally have given puberty blockers to assist gender children for early puberty, and it is the exact same medication dosage and frequency. All major medical groups continue to support gender-affirming care, the same medical groups that we trust with frameworks for care across
all other disciplines. Jennifer, gender affirming care is not banned in the European countries cited in this bill, the current Swedish guidelines state when caring for young people with gender dysphoria is important to affirm the patient's gender identity. One measure that has a significant impact on the individual is for health staff to ask for the person. preferred name and pronouns and then use them both in direct contact with the person and in documentation. Studies show
Nikki Bok
Unverified
2:12:29
that affirming care greatly reduces depression and
suicidal thoughts and transgender youth, and that legislation targeting
Speaker 237
2:12:36
the community like this increases those concerns, as well as harassment and bullying. As a healthcare professional, I've seen these studies corroborated firsthand with patient reports and ER admissions. Please don't deny the ability of those of us who want to serve this community to do so. Please vote no. Thank you. Questions from committee.
is the last name Bok. Yes, yes, what would you increase the, what would you identify as the reason for a 377%
increase in transgender identifying youth since the beginning of I think having the language I think
Speaker 237
2:13:31
having the um the language, the the the words to put can make a big difference.
So I think one just visibility, um, I don't, I think that visibility and feeling safe. Um, public opinion, all these things make a big difference and whether a person feels safe enough to come out. So you think the
Lindsay Thomas
Unverified
2:13:54
numbers were already always there. I think there may
Speaker 237
2:13:59
have been more that I would have identified as having a some kind of gender variation, had they had that language to begin with, sure. And also being a trained
professional, these numbers actually vary greatly with Arkansas Howe being much lower than California, uh, scientific reason for that? There's a lot of
Speaker 237
2:14:23
discussion, um, about that, the, I would assume probably safety concerns. I, there, like I said in my speech, there, there is a direct correlation and um the harassment and bullying by their peers, there is a direct correlation when legislation
like this is being heard, so sure, a component of that is the safety and um they what they're experiencing at school.
Since we're talking about direct correlations.
I, I really wasn't going to bring this up, but since we're talking about that there's only been one exhaustive study and you're a medical professional, unlocked the counselors. The
Sweden and I believe it's, I believe it's 153, uh. Young people was actually all the the young people that had been through, uh, their medical interventions. Could have been 163, but it's in those numbers. The We know and contrary to what was said before, and I wasn't going to argue.
American Association of Child Psychiatry, uh, Uh So. In writing in their A text. I don't know if you call it a manual or what you call it. I don't know the correct definition that gender dysphoria. Occurred mainly in males. Mainly before or around 2 years old. And nobody knows why. Nobody
knew why then. Nobody knows why now, uh. And that causes it causes a great deal of distress for that child. It causes a great deal of distress for those parents, uh, and The but As The representative pointed out, said over 70% to almost 90% between the ages of 18 and 25, decide that they're not a girl. Now that's
The didn't this explosion is more female than male. It doesn't occur at to. It occurs at adolescence, uh, The And But in all cases, like I said, it was 70 to 90% that decided In adulthood that they weren't uh. The opposite sex. Now, Sweden, who was a leader, not to their
credit, but it gives us a lot to know with the study of the 153. 100% who receive gender affirming care and the rest of them cannot, but you can, and doctors do here in Arkansas provide puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone therapy, 153 went on to have surgery, uh, as young adults, uh, if
That seems to be distressing that 70 to 90% By everybody's numbers, Decide that they, as they come into a young adult that they not really that opposite sex, but with this treatment. 100% are making choices that are really hard to change, uh. Are you aware of that Sweden study? Because like I said, it's
Speaker 237
2:18:25
the only exhaustive study. So I, I mentioned that in Sweden, um, gender affirming care is still not banned, but I, I do want to mention that um you you said a couple of different things. So the, the The the statistics provided are actually regarding Whether or not they remain in that identity after the onset of puberty. And that's quite different than saying they remain after age 18 to 20, you're, you know, because
that's, I just want to be clear about that. um.
And but the question is what we're doing at puberty because like I said, very distressing, uh, I can understand that part and my heart actually goes out to folks into parents, uh, dealing with it, but when you've got 70 to 90%. That decide on their own.
Uh, that again from 18 to 25. is Is gender farming care, having the same, it certainly didn't in Sweden, but, but here in the US it's genderfiring care having a different outcome. Uh, is it having a better outcome as far as and or is it a better outcome for people to continue. People who would have decided that they weren't. A transgender is a better outcome for people to continue
Speaker 237
2:19:59
to believe that they are. I'm not sure it's up to us to decide what's better for a person's life and the legislation, um, really the concern is more about the effect it will have on their ability to receive mental health care. For kids all in, all the kids in the state of Arkansas to receive mental health care for us to be able to affirm their gender. I, I could sit here and have a conversation all about The medication aspect, but that's not really what's the concern here.
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
2:20:31
OK. Any other questions from committee? Mr. Chair, I'll just say we're going back in session at 7:15. I can do an immediate consideration. I'd rather allow Representative Bentley to close and and Do it then. Thank you. We will is it proper to
Lindsay Thomas
Unverified
2:20:52
have a motion to end testimony because we're going to have to do something official. I
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
2:20:56
make a motion. I appreciate the testimony. We've had several, like a motion in
testimony allow represent we've got to take a vote and go back in session. We
had a second from Senator Johnson. The um
Any discussion, hearing none, all for the motion signified by saying. I posed motion carried, uh. Thank you for your testimony. Thank you to all that testified and all of you that couldn't representative Bentley, uh, due to my question at the end, you've got about a minute. Because 715 rolls around.
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
2:21:32
Well, you got less than a minute. Gentlemen, I appreciate your time, and I just want to quickly close gender confusion is not a new thing. It's been around for a very long time. We've had a very successful, um, treatment, watch and wait and different things that were really working 10 years ago things changed and the results have been catastrophic. I want to return to what works for Arkansas. I'll quickly say Arkansas was the first state to pass the heartbeat Protection Act. We were the first state to pass the SAFE Act, the first to do a lot of things, and I want to be the
first to take care of children in our state and get them back To what really works and take care of our children and gender forming care and get them back to what we're really work and get good mental health in our in our state. So with that
I close and I appreciate a good vote. Will of committee motion
to pass from Senator Johnson, second from Senator McKee. Discussion. Uh, there's no time for discussion at 7:15. I apologize. All for the motions signified by saying a all opposed motion
Unknown speaker
2:22:33
carried. Congratulations, Representative you have passed your bill, and we are adjourned.
Agenda
REGULAR AGENDA
CALL TO ORDER
1975 Gramlich TO CREATE THE CHILD CONTENT CREATION PROTECTION ACT.
HB1916 Bentley TO AMEND THE PROTECTING MINORS FROM MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ACT OF 2023; AND TO INCLUDE GENDER-AFFIRMING INTERVENTIONS AS A RIGHT OF ACTION FOR MEDICAL MALPRACTICE.
HB1984 Davis TO CREATE A DESIGNATION FOR A REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER ON A DRIVER'S LICENSE OR IDENTIFICATION CARD.
HB1959 M. Brown TO ABOLISH THE USE OF A WRIT OF SCIRE FACIAS AS THE MEANS OF REVIVING AN OUTSTANDING JUDGMENT; TO ALLOW A JUDGMENT TO BE REVIVED BY NOTICE; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE FEES TO BE CHARGED BY CLERKS OF THE CIRCUIT COURTS.
HB1967 K. Brown TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE UNLAWFUL DISTRIBUTION OF SEXUAL IMAGES OR RECORDINGS.
SB 644 Mckee TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE EXECUTION OF A WRIT OF POSSESSION; AND TO ALLOW FOR THE REMOVAL OF A MANUFACTURED HOME OR MOBILE HOME FROM PROPERTY THAT IS SUBJECT TO A WRIT OF POSSESSION.
PRODUCT OR VAPOR PRODUCT BY A MINOR.
Recess
Reconvene a
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — JUDICIARY COMMITTEE - SENATE AND HOUSE, Apr 14, 2025 | Agenda | 3 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Senator Alan Clark Chair
Unverified
Speaker 13
Speaker 15
Speaker 17
Speaker 21
Representative Matt Brown
Unverified
Senator Ben Gilmore
Unverified
Speaker 42
Senator Terry Rice
Unverified
Speaker 52
Speaker 55
Speaker 57
Speaker 58
Speaker 61
Senator Breanne Davis
Unverified
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
Speaker 66
Robert Combs
Unverified
Speaker 81
Lindsay Thomas
Unverified
Speaker 97
Representative Mary Bentley
Unverified
Speaker 125
Senator Clarke Tucker
Unverified
Speaker 166
Speaker 174
Speaker 154
Josh Garrett
Unverified
Speaker 182
Speaker 183
Senator Tyler Dees Chair
Unverified
Speaker 190
Tisha Dean
Unverified
Kirsten Sowell
Unverified
Speaker 207
Speaker 202
Speaker 59
Speaker 231
Representative Nicole Clowney
Unverified
Nikki Bok
Unverified
Speaker 237